Las Vegas, NV- USC finished the regular season 11-1 and had hopes of reaching the College Football playoffs but their chances were derailed after No. 11 Utah defeated the Trojans 47-24 in the PAC-12 Championship game Friday at Allegiant Stadium.
Utah quarterback Cameron Rising passed for 310 yards and three touchdowns and running back Ja’Quinden Jackson rushed for 105 yards and two touchdowns to help the Utes become back-to-back PAC-12 champions.
The Utes scored 24 unanswered points and sacked USC quarterback Caleb Williams eight
times.
“It’s a very disappointed locker room,” USC head coach Lincoln Riley said. “I want to give Utah a lot of credit. They battled to get back in this game. They played better than us today. They deserved the win. Our play didn’t resemble the way we played the majority of the year.”
Williams found a wide open Tahj Washington for a 50-yard completion. On the next play, Williams hit Washington for a 2-yard touchdown and an early 7-0 lead in the first quarter.
Utah drove down the field on its first possession but settled for a 25-yard field goal from Jadon Redding. On the ensuing drive, Williams broke off a 59-yard run to the Utah 11-yard line. After the play, Williams came up limping and played hurt the rest of the game. After the game, coach Riley said he popped the hamstring and that play.
“The rest of the game, I felt it,” Williams said. “A person that I admire is Kobe (Bryant) and he always said the game is bigger than what you’re feeling. So I was in my head and encouraging myself that the game was bigger than what I was feeling. I also had a group of guys that were looking at me to lead them to victory.”
On fourth and two, Williams hit true freshman running back Raleek Brown out of the backfield for a 3-yard touchdown. USC took a 14-3 lead with 2:52 left in the first quarter.
Denis Lynch gave USC a 17-3 lead with a 20-yard field goal. The offense got off to a fast start but struggled in the second quarter with a turnover on downs and a punt. Utah quarterback Cameron Rising threw two touchdowns in the second quarter to even the score 17-17.
Utah took a 24-17 lead in the third quarter when Rising threw a 57-yard touchdown to Money Parks, who broke multiple tackles to get into the end zone. Utah added a 35-yard field goal at the beginning of the fourth quarter to extend the lead 27-17.
USC answered with a Williams 12-yard touchdown pass to Mario Williams and the Trojans cut the lead 27-14 with 10:52 left in the fourth quarter. Utah came right back with Rising throw a 60-yard touchdown to Thomas Yassmin for a 34-24 lead.
The Trojans kept fighting and on the next possession, they were faced with a 4th and three when Williams found Jordan Addison wide open for a 48-yard reception.
USC reached the Utah 23-yard line but Williams was intercepted to end the scoring threat. Utah
didn’t waste any time to capitalize on the turnover as Jackson broke loose for a 53-yard touchdown.
The Utes put the game away with a 23-yard touchdown run from Micah Bernard with 1:52 remaining in the fourth quarter.
